Warriors beat Suns 113-107

OAKLAND -- Mark Jackson wanted to give Stephen Curry and his sore quad a break after the Warriors had wrestled back the lead midway through third quarter Sunday. Curry made it clear he was just fine.

Playing through a right quad strain, Curry still proved to be a dangerous playmaker in a 113-107 comeback win over Phoenix.

"I'm surprised he still asked me, because he already knows the answer," Curry mused.

Curry finished with 18 points and nine assists as he along with David Lee and Klay Thompson keyed the Warriors' season-high 38-point third quarter that turned the game at Oracle Arena in Golden State's favor.

The Warriors went on a 16-0 run as Thompson hit each of his three 3-point attempts in the third and Curry connected from long range, dished out three assists and took a charge in that stretch.

"The guys had a sense of urgency," Jackson said. "They understood and understand how big this game was and realize we had an opportunity to really take control of it, and I thought Steph did a really great job.

"I thought he really took over the game in that third quarter."

Lee had game highs of 26 points and nine rebounds, and Thompson scored 13 of his 22 points in the third. Curry had six of his assists in that quarter and spent much of the game chasing around Phoenix's Goran Dragic, who had 24 points.

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Golden State broke through in the third after Phoenix had led by as many as 12 points in the first half, with Thompson's 3-pointer giving the Warriors a 74-73 lead. By the time Thompson hit a turnaround jump shot to start the fourth, the Warriors had pushed the lead to 18 points.

"He's a guy that gives life to his team with his ability to knock down shots," Jackson said. "I played alongside Reggie Miller. I saw the impact that it had on opposing teams, how it takes the life out of them."

Curry and Thompson had both battled injury concerns heading into the game. Thompson missed the second half of Friday's win against Atlanta for precautionary reasons after suffering a lower back strain. Curry saw his quad strain suffered in Wednesday's win at Boston stiffen up against Atlanta, necessitating an MRI the following day.

While Jackson sought to limit Curry's minutes, the All-Star still played 30 minutes, was 7 for 16 from the field and had the ball in his hands in the final moments of the game.

"It didn't get any worse," Curry said, adding the injury was "manageable" and "something small."

Phoenix cut the lead to four points in the final minute, but despite two missed free throws each from Andre Iguodala and Steve Blake, the Suns could get no closer. Gerald Green finished with 25 points but stepped out of bounds with 11.1 seconds left, and Marcus Morris' 3-point attempt was airballed to allow Iguodala the opportunity to hit two free throws with seven seconds left.

With their 40th win of the season, the Warriors extended their lead on Phoenix to three games for the Western Conference's No. 6 seed with 18 games left to play for Golden State. The Suns lost ground in the standings and fell into a tie for the No. 8 seed with Memphis and behind Dallas, which visits the Warriors on Tuesday.

Golden State earned a 2-2 season series split with Phoenix, which shot 48 percent from the field but committed 20 turnovers including seven in the third.

Curry committed only one turnover, and now the Warriors have won nine of 11 games since the All-Star break and moved to 16 games over .500.

"We have a bunch of us banged up right now that are playing through things, and Steph is one of those guys," center Andrew Bogut said. "Whenever you've got guys out there battling, it's telling that you want to be out there pushing for a playoff spot."

Guard Nemanja Nedovic was available off the bench after being recalled from Santa Cruz, where he played in two games having recovered from hamstring and toe injuries.